Heddle frame



J. J. KAUFMANN June23, 1942.

Y HEDDLEIFRAME Filed May 8, 1941 i I II:

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Patented June 23, 1942 TEN FFEQE HEDTDLE FRAME John Jacob Kaufmann,Elkins Park, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company,Philadelphia,'Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 8,1941, Serial No. 392,435 Claims. (01. 129-92) This invention relates toheddle frames for looms, and it relates more particularly to certainimprovements in the devices for supporting, intermediatev their ends,the heddle bars which are employed in heddle frames of the type atpresent most commonly used.

Heretofore, one of the principal difficulties encountered in the use ofheddle frames in which the top and bottom railsare'made of wood, and

in which devices, known in the industry as hooks,.are mounted forsupporting the heddle bars intermediate their ends, has been that thewooden rails would becomedistorted and thereby disturb the alinement andparallelism of the heddle bars. It is, of course, well understood thatthe heddle bars must be maintained in the proper spaced and parallelrelationship, as otherwise the heddles will bind on the bars andimperfections in the weave will result. One of the principal faults, inconnection with the devices for supporting the heddle bars in theframes, has been that no entirely satisfactory means has heretoforebeendevised for mounting the heddle bar supporting devices in the woodenrails in such manner that the same may not only be readily andconveniently adjusted therein, but will be firmly held in their adjustedpositions.

The principal object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide,in connection with the devices for supporting the heddle bar'sintermediate their ends, improved means for mounting said devices in thetop and bottom rails of the heddle frames, and for permitting thenecessary adjustment thereof while, at the same time, serving to holdsaid; devices intheir adjusted positions to the end that the heddle barsmay be held properly spaced and in their proper parallel relationship.

A further object of the invention is toprovide, in connection with thedevices for supporting the heddle bars intermediate their ends, improvedmeans for mounting said devices in the top and bottom rails of theframes, which will be simple and eflicient, and which may beinexpensively constructed.

A further objectof the invention is to provide heddle bar supportingdevices which may be readily adjusted inthe rails in'which they aremounted without requiring the use of special tools, or ,a-high degree ofskill on the part of the operator in making'the required adjustments.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is an elcvational view of a heddle frame provided with heddlebar supporting devices having improved means for securing the same inthe top and bottom rails of the heddle frames, said means embodying themain features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view, illustrating more clearly theconstruction and arrangement of the parts, certain of the parts beingshown in secton;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken approximately on the line 3--3 ofFig. 2;

Fig.4 is a perspective View of one of the elements of the presentinvention detached; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view of another of said elements.

It will, of course, be understood that the description. and drawingherein are illulstrative merely, and that various modifications andchanges may be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the heddle frame there shown comprises top andbottom rails Ill, usually made of wood and connected at their endportions by metallic end struts II. The heddle bars I2 are mounted inthe frame, in the customary manner, with their respective end portionssupported in the end struts H and secured therein, in the usual manner,by spring members l3. The heddles [4, which may be of any preferredtype, are also mounted on the heddle bars l2 in the customary manner.

The inner end portion of the supporting device, which engageseach of theheddle bars l2, may be of any preferred construction, such for example,as that shown in my previous Letters Patent, No. 1,821,647, comprising abolt member l5 having its inner end portion flattened as at l6 andprovided with side plates l1 secured thereto, The side plates I! arerecessed as at l8 for the reception and support of the heddle bars [2.There is also provided a slidemember l9, having leg portions guidedbetween the side plates and provided with overlapping lips 28 whichserve to confine the heddle bars l2 in the recesses l8. The slide member[9 is impelled to the locking position by means of a coil spring 2|which surrounds the bolt member l5. The coil spring 2| bears at one endagainst a portion of the slide member l9, and at its other end againstlugs 22 struck up from the shank of the bolt member IS.

The bolt member 15 extends entirely through the rail ill with a snugfit, and the outer end thereof is suitably threaded as at, 23 over asubstantial portion of its length. The threaded end 23 of the boltmember l engages the complementally threaded aperture 24 of a blockmember 25 which is mounted on the outer edge of the rai1 I0, beingpositioned thereon by means of the wood screws 26, which pass throughapertures 21 provided in the end portion of the block member 25. Thewood screws 26 are threaded into the rail 10.

There is also provided, in conjunction with the block member 25, adeformable plate member 28, which likewise has a central aperture 29threaded complemental to the threaded end of the bolt member I 5, whichit engages at a slight distance from the outer face of the block member25. The plate member 28 is also provided in its end portions withapertures 30 which register with the apertures 21 in the block member25, and through which the wood screws 26 also extend. The heads of thewood screws engage the outer face of the deformable plate member 28 sothat when the wood screws 26 are tightened, the end portions of theplate member 28 will be brought into contact with the block member 25,thereby serving to grip the threads 23 of the bolt member and thusprevent undesirable turning of the bolt member I5, and the supportingdevice carried thereby.

When it is desired to adjust the heddle bar supporting device in theframe, the heddle bars are first removed from said supporting device byfirst manually moving the slide member against the tension of the coilspring 2|. The bars may then be withdrawn from the recesses in theplates in which they are normally positioned. The wood screws 26 arethen loosened, by means of an ordinary screw driver, a sufficientdistance to allow a certain freedom of movement of the plate member 28in a direction corresponding to the axis of the bolt member I 5,whereupon said bolt member may be freely rotated to bring the recesses lB in the plate members IT to the proper distance from the rail Ill. Theadjustment having been made, it is then merely necessary to againtighten the wood screws 26 to cause the plate members 28 to grip thethreads 23 of the bolt member I5. The supporting device will then befixedly and securely held and will not become loosened or disarranged byreason of the shocks and jars to which the structure is subjected in theshedding operation of the loom.

I claim:

1. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, a platemember positioned a short distance from the block member and having athreaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member,and means for pressing the plate member toward the block member to causethe plate member to grip the threads of the bolt member.

2. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, a platemember positioned a short distance from the block member and having athreaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member,and means mounted in the rail engaging the end portions of the platemember and block member to cause the plate member to grip the threads ofthe bolt member.

3. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, adeformable plate member positioned a short distance from the blockmember and having a threaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion ofthe bolt member, and means mounted in the rail engaging the end portionsof the plate member and block member to cause the plate member to gripthe threads of the bolt member,

4. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, a platemember positioned a short distance from the block member and having athreaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member,and screws mounted in the rail and passing through apertures in theplate member thereby to cause the plate member to grip the threads ofthe bolt member when said screws are tightened.

5. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, adeformable plate member positioned a short distance from the blockmember and having a threaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion ofthe bolt member, and screws mounted in the rail and passing throughapertures in the plate member thereby to cause the plate member to gripthe threads of the bolt member when said screws are tightened.

6. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, a platemember positioned a short distance from the block member and having athreaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member,and screws mounted in the rail and passing through registered aperturesin the plate member and block member thereby to cause the plate memberto grip the threads of the bolt member when said screws are tightened.

7. A supporting device for the heddle bars of loom harness framesincluding a bolt member, means carried by said bolt member forsupporting a heddle bar, said bolt member having a threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the threaded portion, ablock member mounted on the rail of the frame and having a threadedaperture engaged by the threaded portion of the bolt member, adeformable plate member positioned a short distance from the blockmember and having a threaded aperture engaged by the threaded portion ofthe bolt member, and wood screws threaded in the rail and passingthrough registered apertures in the plate memher and block memberthereby to cause the plate member to grip the threads of the bolt memberwhen said screws are tightened.

JOHN JACOB KAUFMANN.

